Into the Unknown
by Kammie Celeek
Summary: Lost in the woods, siblings Izuku and Eri try to find their way home and encounter a colorful menagerie of characters along the way while trying to avoid the mysterious Beast.
1. The Old Grist Mill

_"Somewhere, lost in the clouded annals of history lies a place that few have seen- a mysterious place, called the Unknown, where long-forgotten stories are revealed to those who travel through the wood."_

_ —Over the Garden Wall _episode 1: "The Old Grist Mill".

* * *

"…Antelope, Guggenheim, Albert, Salami, Giggly, Jumpy, Tom, Thomas, Tambourine, Leg-Face McCullen, Artichoke, Penguin, Pete, Steve…"

The little girl took a breath before she continued.

"But I think the very worst name for this frog is—"

"Wait a second, Eri." An older boy—about high-school age—held a hand in front of her. "Where… are we?"

"We're in the woods," the little girl replied, tilting her head. She had a headband on with a horn that made her look like some kind of unicorn girl, crowning her head of silvery hair. She wore a long-sleeved white shirt underneath a lavender overall dress and she hugged a green frog in her arms as she stood before the boy.

"No, I mean, what are we doing here?" The boy had fluffy green hair and was wearing some kind of superhero costume—green with a metal mask around the neck and a hood that looked like bizarre rabbit ears hanging down his back.

"We're walking home."

"Eri, I think we're lost. We should have left a trail or something." Odd noises filtered through the trees.

"I can leave a trail of candy!" She reached into a small bag that hung across her body and threw some candy on the ground.

"No. Eri, that's not going to help us now that we're so far out in the woods. We should've—"

There was a loud _thump_ nearby and he froze.

"Did you hear that?"

"Yeah."

They hid behind a tree, the elder boy holding Eri back as the frog croaked quietly.

"Do you think it's some deranged lunatic with an axe waiting out there in the darkness for innocent victims?" he asked.

"I dunno." Eri ran off, towards the sound, and Izuku ran after her.

"Eri! You're gonna get us in trouble!"

She stopped by a fallen log and pointed at a thin man chopping wood, a lantern sitting by his feet as he collected the wood.

"We should ask him for help."

"No, we should _not_ ask him for help!"

"But—"

"Shhh!"

"You shush!"

"You shush!"

Izuku covered Eri's mouth as the woodsman picked up the lantern and walked away, the light fading as he did so. The elder of the two sighed and released his sister's mouth.

"Shoot. You think we should've asked him for help?"

"Maybe I can help you."

They looked up to see a bluebird sitting on a branch. Izuku gasped and started slapping his face.

"_What_ is going on here?" he asked, confused.

"Well, you're slapping yourself, and I'm answering your question—" began Eri.

"No, Eri, a bluebird's brain isn't big enough for cognizant speech."

"What was that?" asked the bluebird, offended.

"I mean, I'm just saying you're weird—like, not normal." Eri stuck a piece of candy on a passing turtle. "Oh, gosh. I-I mean… _stop talking to it, Izuku…_"

"_It_?!" The younger of the two stuck a piece of candy to her brother's hood.

"Uh… uh…"

Light suddenly started shining off from the side. It was the woodsman with his lantern, his face gaunt and his hair messy and yellow.

"And I'm out. Bye." The bluebird flew off, leaving the brother and sister alone with the woodsman. He glared at them with his electric-blue eyes.

"C-calm down, sir! W-we don't want any trouble! Whatever you do here is your business! We just want to get home with all our arms and legs attached."

"These woods are no place for children. Don't you know the Beast is afoot here?"

"The Beast? We don't know anything about that! We're just two lost kids trying to get home."

"Well, welcome to the Unknown, kids. You're more lost than you realize."

Wind eerily blew through the trees, making Izuku shiver as he and Eri followed the woodsman to a mill. He dusted off his boots before going inside, Eri hopping along behind him excitedly.

"My name is Toshinori," the woodsman stated, kneeling in front of the fireplace. I found this mill abandoned and I repurposed it for my needs." He started a fire, snapping one small branch in half and tossing it under a nearby couch. "You and your sister should be safe here while I work."

"Candy trail, candy trail, _candy trail_!" sang Eri, dropping more of the sweets on the floor as she backed further into the room.

"What… is your work, exactly?"

"Everyone has their torch to burn, and this one's mine." He tapped the lantern. "I grind the Edelwood trees into oil to keep the lantern lit. This is my lot in life, my burden."

"This guy sounds crazy. Maybe we should make a run for it," whispered Izuku to Eri. "But he must know the woods really well, so we might need to knock him out first… except that may turn out really badly, huh? Yeah, b-bad plan. Forget that plan."

"Okay!"

"What are you two whispering about?" asked Toshinori, standing up.

"We're talking about running away!" Eri chirped brightly.

"Leave if you want, but know that the Beast is out there. In search of lost souls like you."

"To help us?"

"No, not to help you." Toshinori walked towards a door. "I must attend to my duties. I will do what I can to guide you if you're still here when I return."

He shut the door.

"Huh. I guess we could just leave…?" Izuku mused.

"Yeah," Eri agreed, walking over and grabbing a small statue, swinging it experimentally before dropping it.

"Hey, Eri? Do you think there's really a Beast, or is that guy just messing with us?"

"Uh-huh." She wandered over and picked up a log, doing the same thing she'd done with the statue.

"I mean, he could've gotten rid of us by now if that was his plan… and he lit that fire, which is nice." Izuku laid down on a couch.

"Yeah!"

"I guess it's possible there's a Beast, since there was a talking bird, but… I don't know…" He sighed.

"Did you know that if you soak a raisin in grape juice, it turns into a grape?" Eri dug into her bag and produced a small rock with a face painted on it. "That's a _rock fact_!"

"You're not helping. Why don't you play with your frog for a little bit?"

"Aw. Where is that frog of mine? Hang on, brother! I'll go get him!"

Eri dashed out of the mill, looking around frantically for her lost frog.

"Kitty! Kitty! Now, where did that frog named Kitty go? Oof!" She slipped on a piece of candy, landing on her back and looking up at the sky. "I tripped on my own candy trail!"

There was a rustling in the bushes that caught her attention. She tilted her head, walking towards the bushes and squinting into the darkness. In the dim light, she couldn't see anything.

_"Ribbit."_

"That frog's giving me the runaround," she scoffed, walking back towards the mill.

Climbing onto a barrel, she peered through the window to see Toshinori with sticks from the Edelwood trees in his hand. Without a word, he dropped them into the grinder. Oil spurted out the end and into a small jar, which quickly filled and replaced with another.

"Ew…"

There was breathing behind her and she turned around to see the source. She slipped on the edge of the barrel and fell in, landing on her frog. The frog croaked.

"There you are!"

The breathing got louder, making Eri feel the hair on the back of her neck stand up in fear. She stared up at the top of the barrel, confused and hoping that nothing was wrong… as a giant black dog's face appeared, its eyes a swirl of yellow and blue and pink as it continued panting heavily, teeth bared and terrifying.

"You have beautiful eyes!" she squeaked. It began to roar.

Inside the mill, Izuku was playing with an old toy when Toshinori burst through the door.

"Where's your sister?" he gasped. Izuku shrugged and the door opened to reveal Eri and her frog.

"Holy moly! Hot _dog_!" she stated before the door flew open and launched her onto the stairs. The black dog crept inside, growling low and approaching.

"It's the Beast!" yelped Izuku.

"Hang on, kids!" Toshinori announced, holding up his axe. "I'll take care of this d—"

Before he could finish, Eri had scooted down the now-broken stairs with a piece of wood, which she swung over his head. He stumbled, slipping on the statue that was on the floor and hitting his head on the log she'd been testing earlier.

"Eri! Why'd you do that?!"

"That was your plan, remember? Knock him out!"

"I told you to forget that plan! Bad plan, remember?!"

They had forgotten the dog in that moment, but it soon let its presence be known once again as soon as it began to growl. Izuku was quickly cornered and Eri picked up the axe, hitting the handle against the dog's rear.

"Spank! Spank! _Spank!_"

It roared in displeasure and Izuku scrambled to his feet, running for the mill room while Eri narrowed her eyes at the dog.

"Candy _camouflage_!" she declared, throwing candy in the air before grabbing her frog and running after her brother. The dog gave chase as Izuku clambered up onto what could best be described as a giant table, pulling his sister up after him as she threw more candy at the dog.

To Izuku's surprise, the dog began to lap up the sweets.

"Eri, he's eating your candy!"

"I wonder if he ate my whole candy trail that led to this mill!"

"Ah! Eri, you led the Beast right to us!" He took the axe. "Give this to me. You're too little to have it anyway."

Suddenly, the dog jumped up onto the table and Izuku and Eri began to climb the workings of the mill quickly. They reached the top, finding a hatch that led to the roof and climbing out it while the dog paced at the bottom.

"I think we're safe," Izuku breathed. Then the dog burst through the roof and Izuku yelped. "Quick, Eri! Give him the rest of your candy!"

She dug into her bag and came up empty-handed, then glanced at Izuku's hood.

_The piece of candy she'd stuck to it earlier was still there._

In one quick motion, she snatched the treat and tossed it over the side of the roof. The dog followed as it fell into the spinning wheel that rested by the side of the river and the dog itself fell in. Trapped by the spinning wheel, the dog was squeezed until the black turtle Eri had stuck a piece of candy onto popped out of its mouth. The force also broke apart the mill, sending Izuku to the ground and Eri into the river.

"Eri?!" he gasped.

"Izuku, look!" She was riding on the back of a pretty-looking greyhound, both dripping wet. "He spit up that turtle and now he's my new best friend!"

The dog shook itself dry, also knocking Eri off as it walked away.

"Hey! Ain't that just the way…?"

"What have you done?!"

Toshinori stared at the wreckage of the mill in horror before dropping to his knees and searching for the oil.

"It's all gone… the oil…"

"S-sorry, but we got the Beast problem solved!" Izuku pointed at the dog.

"The _dog_? The dog isn't the Beast, young man! He can't be defeated so easily as that. He sings like the four winds, stalking the night, and he'll _ruin_…" Toshinori began muttering to himself.

"I'm so sorry. I'm always messing up…"

"You had no way of knowing if you didn't know of the Beast, but at least you take responsibility for your actions." He stood up with his axe and the lantern, pointing at a path across the river. "Take that road north until you reach a town. That should take you out of these woods."

"Thank you, sir. C'mon, Eri." Izuku took his sister's hand and they started to cross the river.

"One last thing, kids. Beware the Unknown. Fear the Beast. And leave these woods if you can. It is _your_ burden to bear."

"Right."

"And young lady, you take good care of that frog. Give her a proper name."

"It's a girl?" Eri inquired, smiling. "That will make it _much_ easier! Thank you, mister!"

The siblings headed up the trail and found themselves in another part of the woods.

"Izuku, I think I thought of a new name for our frog. I'm gonna call her Izumi!"

"That's gonna get confusing."

"No, I'm gonna call _you_ Kitty."

"Heh. Maybe I should call _you_ Candy-bag."

"Whoa, yeah!" Eri's eyes shone excitedly.

The frog croaked.

"Good one, Izumi."

They walked into the darkness, their path lit only by the half-moon above them.

* * *

**So in case you didn't guess, this is going to be a ten-chapter story based on Over the Garden Wall. For those of you who haven't heard of it, it's a miniseries that ran on Cartoon Network in 2014 and is probably my favorite animated series of all time. It's dark, it's creepy, it's thought-provoking, and it's got some of the most realistic siblings I've seen in animation in the form of half-brothers Greg and Wirt.**

** I highly recommend you watch the series.**

** Anyway, so long and thanks for all the fish!**


	2. Hard Times at the Huskin' Bee

As dawn broke, the woods came to life.

Turkeys wandered across the path, geese honked in the distance, and crickets chirped. Add in the sound of a cool breeze rustling through the autumn leaves and it was a soundtrack of fall that Izuku would've admired had he and his sister not been lost in the woods. She was humming a little tune and skipping, obviously in a much better mood than he was, and he wished that he could have that same naivety about their situation that she seemed to have. Her frog was perched on her head, clinging on and staring blankly at their surroundings.

"We should've reached the town by now," Izuku sighed. "Toshinori pointed this way, right?"

"I'm pretty sure he did." Eri tapped her chin and Izuku sighed, continuing to walk forward.

"I guess we better keep walking. We're bound to find something eventually." He spotted a sign for somewhere called Pottsfield, only a mile away. "Hey, this looks promising! Right, Eri?"

There was silence.

"Eri?"

His younger sister was no longer right behind him, he realized as he turned around to look why she wasn't responding. He internally began to panic as he always did when she went out of his sight while they were out and about.

Eri, on the other hand, had walked away because she heard a noise in the bushes.

Or, to be more accurate, a voice calling for help.

She looked into the bush to see a bluebird tangled in briars.

"I'm stuck!" the bluebird gasped, struggling.

"Whoa…"

"Oh, it's you again! Hey, help me out and I'll owe you a favor."

"Does that mean I get a wish?"

"No, I'm not magical. I'll just do you a good turn."

"Well, my brother always tells me to do good things because they're good things to do, not just because people offer me stuff." She squeezed her little hand between the thorns. "So… I'm going to help you and you won't owe me anything!"

"Eri!" Izuku ran up and got her attention. "What are you doing?"

"Trying to help somebody!" She got her hand on the bluebird, freeing the creature from the briars.

"Whew! Thanks!" The bird flapped her wings, landing on Izuku's head. "I really should thank you somehow, even if you don't want it."

"You really don't have to," Izuku replied, still a little unnerved to be talking to a bluebird.

"So, um… you two are lost kids with no purpose in life, right?"

"I wouldn't say that…"

"Well, anyway, how about I take you to see Himiko of the Pasture, the Good Woman of the Woods? She can help you get home."

"Um, actually, we're heading north—towards Pottsfield. Thank you, though."

She continued to follow them as they reached a pumpkin-lined road.

"So, my name's Eri. What's yours?"

"Kendo."

"My brother's name's Izuku!"

"Okay then… so what do you say you and I ditch your brother?"

"I can hear you!" Izuku called back, then there was a _crunch_ as he stepped in a pumpkin. "Dang it."

"I stepped in one earlier!" Eri announced, holding up a single foot that still had a pumpkin on it.

"AH!" Izuku shook off the pumpkin and pointed to the town ahead. "Civilization! I knew we'd reach it eventually! C'mon, Eri!"

The three of them wandered through the seemingly-abandoned town, where there appeared to be nobody around. Izuku furrowed his brow in confusion, peeking into houses to try and find somebody—anybody—who could help him and his sister get home. But there was no-one.

"Hello?" he called. "Eri, did you see anyone?"

"I see you!"

"Yeah, I see you, too."

"Well, an abandoned ghost town doesn't seem like it's going to be all that helpful," Kendo scoffed.

"It's just gonna take a little longer. Hello? Anybody?"

Eri peeked into an empty rain barrel while Izuku opened a door to find an oversized turkey sitting at a table. It lifted its head and stared at him with its cold, beady eyes.

"Oh, sorry… just… looking for a phone…" It glared. "Sorry. Sorry. I'm… I'm gonna go now."

He shut the door and Eri perked her head up.

"Do you hear that?" she asked.

Quiet music—or at least, muffled music—filtered through the air. The three of them walked towards it to see a barn, where several figures moved inside. Izuku felt relief at seeing other people—an entire _town_ of other people—and grabbed Eri's hand so they could go closer.

Within the barn, however, the people weren't… quite what they'd expected. They all had some kind of gourd for heads and their bodies were made of cornhusks. But they danced merrily around a maypole and played music, laughing and enjoying themselves in some kind of celebration.

"Excuse me," a man with a pumpkin head stated, pushing past the siblings before turning back around. "Say, you folks ought to don your vegetables and celebrate the harvest with us."

"Oh! You're wearing costumes!" breathed Izuku in relief.

"Well, sure. Pumpkins don't move on their own, you know!" He laughed and walked over to a young woman, who he began to dance with.

"Good thing I didn't take this off!" chirped Eri, holding up her foot that still had a pumpkin on it.

"Yeah, good thing. Let's split up. I'll ask for directions and you two blend in."

"Um… is this place giving anybody else the creeps?" asked Kendo, glancing over where a man was carving a pumpkin and staring at her with dead eyes. She shuddered.

"It'll be fine," Izuku assured her. "It won't take long."

"Hey, Kendo! Dance with me!" Eri insisted.

"No, thank you!"

Eri began to whirl around with her still unnamed frog, Kendo perched on her head and hanging on for dear life with her little bird feet.

"I said, no thank you!"

Izuku walked towards the back and sighed. How was he supposed to get anybody to…?

"It seems you're a little early," a voice said nearby.

"Huh?" he asked.

"I'm sorry," stated a pumpkin-headed girl with cornhusk hair. "It just seems like you're not ready to join us just yet."

"Well, um, I'm just passing through."

"Folks don't tend to 'pass through' Pottsfield." There was a menace to her tone and Izuku gulped.

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah. It's nice here." And the cheer was back.

"I, um… I'm just looking to leave as soon as possible."

"What?!" An old man with a rotting pumpkin for a head put a cornucopia to his ear. "Leave Pottsfield? Who wants to leave Pottsfield?"

The music abruptly stopped and everyone was staring at Izuku, muttering. Eri ran over to him, clinging to his leg and staring out at the far-less-welcoming crowd.

"Are we leaving?" she whispered.

"I don't think so, Eri…"

"Let's leave immediately!" Kendo insisted.

The barn door closed, leaving them in darkness that was barely lit by the candles.

"R-really, we're just trying to get home!"

"Maybe they're here to steal our crops."

"They don't belong here."

"They came to ruin our party!"

"Now, now," said a deep voice, catching everyone's attention. It was the maypole, a giant pumpkin that bent down to get a look at the kids. "Let's not jump to any _conclusions_."

"Enoch, what should we do with them?" asked the old man.

"I'm done!" Kendo flew off.

"Now, let's see here, children," Enoch stated, addressing the two. "How did you end up in this little town of ours?"

"W-we were trying to get home, and we saw your town and the farms and we thought, 'hey, here's a normal place with normal people' and we decided to come ask for help."

"And we both stepped on pumpkins," admitted Eri.

"Yeah, and then we saw the lights and heard the music from the barn and… look, please just let us leave…"

"Let me get this straight. You come to our town, trample our crops, interrupt our _private engagement_… and now you want to just leave?"

"Um… yes?"

"You'll never convict!" Eri shouted. "You have no proof!"

"This one's trying to escape!" A pumpkin person had caught Kendo, who struggled in his grip.

"Let me go! I don't know these clowns!"

"Children, it saddens me that you don't wish to stay here with us. Particularly since I have to punish you for your transgressions."

Izuku gulped and Eri gripped his pant leg.

"So, by the order of the _Pottsfield Chamber of Commerce_, I find you guilty of trespassing, destruction of property, disturbing the peace… and _murder_."

"Murder?!" Izuku repeated, horrified.

"No, just kidding. But for those other crimes, I hereby sentence you… to a few hours of manual labor."

"Wait. Really, that's it?"

They were led out to the fields, where chains were strapped to their ankles so they wouldn't run away before they were set on tasks such as gathering pumpkins and harvesting corn. Despite being 'city kids', Izuku and Eri were no strangers to doing chores and the work was actually sort of peaceful. Eri especially liked harvesting corn. Kendo wasn't so excited and she kept glancing around at the citizens of Pottsfield, who were watching from a distance.

As the sun set, Izuku and Eri were on their last task—digging holes in a field.

"Just a few hours of manual labor and we're almost done," Izuku sighed happily.

"And _then_ what are you going to do?" Kendo asked. "Just wander around the woods forever, this way and that way, forevermore?"

"Maybe we'll stay in Pottsfield. It's nice here." He chuckled and sighed. "I don't know."

"Why do they even have you digging these holes?"

"For crops, I guess…? I don't know. I wasn't raised in the country."

"Maybe they're going to bury _you_ out here!"

"Ha." Izuku rolled his eyes.

"Hey, buried treasure!" Eri called.

"See, I told you, Kendo. What'd you find?"

"A skeleton!" Eri hopped out of her hole to reveal the bones and Izuku dropped his shovel in horror.

"W-we're digging our own…" His voice trailed off and he looked to Kendo. "Look, I was wrong! I don't know how to get us home! We need to get out of here! Quick, use your little feet to pick the locks!"

"Oh, _now_ you want my help?"

"Yes, please! We need to escape!"

"Your time is up!" Enoch declared. Trumpets started blaring and Kendo got to work picking the lock on her manacle.

"Stall for time!" she hissed.

Suddenly, the pumpkin people were in front of Izuku, making him yelp.

"Have the holes been dug?" asked the old man pumpkin.

"Right. Well, see, we were digging, and we found these rocks. You guys don't like rocks, right?"

Murmurs of agreement came from the crowd.

"See? So we were like, 'we should get rid of these rocks'." Kendo hopped over to Eri's hole.

"Well, that's a good idea," a pumpkin man stated.

"Right? Yeah." Eri hopped out of her hole with her frog, Kendo right behind her as they ran away. "So we were getting rid of the rocks and… huh? They left me…"

"So what happened to the rocks?!" the man pressed.

"Uh, the rocks…" Izuku began to mumble like he always did when he was stressed or worried as the skeleton from before climbed out of the hole Eri had dug. He turned to see as much and gasped. "Whoa!"

"Welcome back, Larry!" the pumpkin people roared excitedly, running over to the skeleton.

"He looks exactly the same," whispered a woman.

The skeleton jumped into a large pumpkin, which became his body as he put a jack-o-lantern on his head. A skeleton climbed out of the hole beside Izuku, making him yelp in surprise yet again.

"Edward, this one's for you!" the old man called, tossing another jack-o-lantern at the newer skeleton as the citizens of Pottsfield celebrated again.

"What a wonderful harvest…" mused Enoch as he watched the goings-on before turning back to Izuku. "What about you? Are you sure you want to leave?"

"Yeah. Sorry, but I have to get home with my little sister."

"Psst!" He looked to see Kendo glaring. "Why are you still here?"

"You guys left me…" Glancing down at his ankle, he saw that the manacle was unlocked. "Oh."

"Come on!"

They ran into the woods, where Eri was waiting with her frog. Izuku glanced behind him.

"Good. They're not chasing us, which means we're free to go. I thought you guys—"

"No," the two females replied in unison.

"Well, Kendo, I guess you're not honor-bound to help us anymore…"

"I wish, but you two weren't actually in any danger with those weirdos."

"I guess that means you still have to help us get home."

"I'll bring you to Toga, then. That's where I'm going, anyways."

"Why are _you_ going to Toga's?" They began to walk.

"I guess in some ways, I'm trying to get home, too."

"That's vague. What does that mean?"

"I don't have to tell you anything."

"I hope Toga's more helpful than Toshinori was. His directions were not very good."

A single maple leaf blew against the border fence of Pottsfield, stopped by an invisible force.

* * *

**This is a story that's going to take longer after I get past chapter 4. The transcripts for episodes 1-4 are available online, but since 5-10 aren't, that means a lot of rewatching and trying to nail everything down. Thankfully, it's slightly easier than I anticipated.**

** So long and thanks for all the fish!**


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